RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
27 March 2020  
(20-2477) Page: 1/32 
Committee on Government Procurement  Original: English  
 
ACCESSION OF THE UNI TED KINGDOM TO THE A GREEMENT ON GOVERNME NT 
PROCUREMENT IN ITS O WN RIGHT  
UPDATED REPLIES TO THE CHECK LIST OF ISSUES FOR P ROVISION OF INFORMAT ION  
RELATING TO ACCESSIO N TO THE REVISED AGR EEMENT  
ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT  
Revision  
The following document  from the United Kingdom , dated 26 March  2020, is being circulated at the 
request of the Delegation of the United Kingdom.  
 
_______________  
 
 
1  LEGAL FRAMEWORK  
1.1.  Is there a single central law on procurement? If so, pl ease specify?  
The legal regime that regulates public procurement in the UK is set out in six sets of secondary 
legislation (referred to in the UK as Regulations). These Regulations were made under Section 2(2) 
of the European Communities Act 1972 and when the UK was still a Member State of the EU, 
transposed into UK law the European Union ( EU)'s public procurement Directives 2014/24/EU on 
public contracts, 2014/25/EU on utilities contracts, 2014/23/EU on concession contracts and 
89/665/EC and 92/13/EC on re view procedures.  
In a referendum held in June 2016, the people of the UK voted to leave the EU and the UK provided 
notification to the EU under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union of its intention to withdraw 
from the EU. On 17 October 2019, the UK and EU reached an agreement on the withdrawal of the 
UK from the EU1 ("the Withdrawal Agreement ") which came into force on 1 February 2020. The 
Withdrawal Agreement provides for a transition period during which the core body of EU law will be 
applicable to  and in the UK until the end of the transition period which is due to come to an end on 
31 December 2020.  
For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the laws which regulate procurement are The Public 
Contracts Regulations 2015 as amended2 (PCR 2015 ), The Uti lities Contracts Regulations 2016 as 
amended3 (UCR 2016 ) and The Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 ( CCR 2016 ). These three 
Regulations do not extend to Scotland, other than specific provisions in the PCR 2015 which make 
 
1 Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the 
European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community  2019/C 384 I/01  
2 Amended by The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2015, The Public 
Procurement (Amendments, Repeals and Revocations) Regulations 2016, The Electronic Identification and Trust 
Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations 2016, The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Markets in 
Financial Instruments) Regulations 2017 , The Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016 (Consequential 
and Supplemental Provisions) Regulations 2018  and The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) 
Regulations 2019  (which itself was amended by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) (N o. 2) 
Regulations 2019 (not yet in force)) . 
3 Amended by The Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations 
2016 and The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019  (not yet in force) (which itself 
was amended by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (not yet in 
force)) . GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  amendments to domestic laws regu lating defence and security procurement. For Scotland, the 
relevant laws are The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 as amended4 (PCSR 2015 ), 
The Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 as amended5 (UCSR 2016 ) and The Concession 
Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 as amended6 (CCSR 2016 ). Links to all six sets of 
Regulations are listed in Annex A.  
These Regulations were amended by Regulations made under powers in the European Union 
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 in order to address defic iencies in the law relating to public procurement 
which arise from the withdrawal of the UK from the EU to ensure that the legislation continues to 
operate effectively. These Regulations have been made as a contingency in the event of the UK 
leaving the EU  without a deal but have not yet come into force since the Withdrawal Agreement 
(which includes a transition period) was agreed between the EU and the UK.  Further amendments 
to the Regulations will be made prior to the end of the transition period under po wers in the European 
Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 
2020. This may include revoking or amending parts or all of the amending Regulations already made 
but not yet in force and also amendments to impl ement the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement. 
For example the Withdrawal Agreement provides for transitional arrangements for procurements 
which began prior to the end of the transition period. This requires that UK domestic legislation be 
changed to r eflect these transitional arrangements which in general involves the continued 
application of EU law to procurements which are ongoing at the end of the transition period.  
1.2.  What are the other laws, regulations, decrees, administrative rulings, decisions, 
policy guidelines and other instruments governing government procurement? Please 
provide a summary of the subject areas dealt with by each of these instruments. Please 
also explain the main differences (if any) that exist between their application at 
the central and sub -central levels of government and at other types of procuring entities.  
Other laws – general  
There are several additional laws in the UK governing public procurement.  
1. Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires contracting authorities, before carrying 
out procurements for public services contracts which are subject to the PCR 2015, to 
consider how what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social a nd 
environmental well -being of the relevant area, and how, in conducting the process of 
procurement, they might act with a view to securing that improvement.  
2. The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and the Procurement (Scotland) 
Regulations 2016 imp ose two additional duties on contracting authorities in respect of 
procurements which are subject to the PCSR 2015. The sustainable procurement duty 
is a duty, before carrying out the procurement, to consider how in conducting the 
procurement process the c ontracting authority can improve the economic, social and 
environmental wellbeing of its area, facilitate the involvement of SMEs, third sector 
bodies and supported businesses, and promote innovation and, in carrying out the 
procurement, to act with a view  to securing such improvements to the economic social 
and environmental wellbeing of its area as it has identified. The community benefits 
duty is a duty on the contracting authority, before carrying out a procurement process 
for a contract worth at least £4m, to consider whether to impose community benefit 
requirements and, where it does so, this must be detailed in the call for competition 
 
4 Amended by The Public Contracts (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2016, The Electronic Identification 
and Trust Services for Electronic Transacti ons Regulations 2016 , The First -tier Tribunal for Scotland (Transfer of 
Functions of the Private Rented Housing Panel) Regulations 2016  and T he Public Procurement etc. (Scotland) 
(Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019  (not yet in force) (which itself was a mended by  The Public Procurement 
etc. (Scotland) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2019  (not yet in force)).  
5 Amended by The Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations 
2016 and The Public Procure ment (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019  (not yet in force) (which itself 
was amended by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (not yet in 
force)) .  
6 Amended by The Concession Contracts (Scotland) Amendment Reg ulations 2016 and The Electronic 
Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations and The Public Procurement etc. 
(Scotland) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (not yet in force) (which itself was amended by The Public 
Procurem ent etc. (Scotland) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (not yet in force)). . GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  and award notice or, where it does not, it must include in the call for competition a 
statement of its reasons for th is. 
3. The Equality Act 2010 requires public authorities to comply with the public sector 
equality duty in the exercise of its functions (which include public procurement 
functions). The public sector equality duty is a duty to have due regard to the need to: 
eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is 
prohibited by or under the Act; advance equality of opportunity between persons who 
share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and foster 
good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and 
persons who do not share it. Section 155(2) of the Act confers a power for the Secretary 
of State to impose certain duties in connection with the Act specifically by reference  to 
authorities covered by Directive 2014/24 in connection with functions that are regulated 
by that Directive. This power has been exercised in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific 
Duties) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2012, which require a listed authority  that 
is a contracting authority for the purposes of the PCSR 2015 to have regard to whether 
certain award criteria and conditions relating to the performance of a relevant contract 
should include considerations that are relevant for the purposes of enabli ng the listed 
authority to better perform the equality duty.  
4. Section 39 of the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 gives the Minister 
for the Cabinet Office the power to implement regulations imposing duties on 
contracting authorities othe r than those whose functions are wholly or mainly devolved 
to the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish administrations in relation to procurement 
matters. No such regulations have been made. Section 40 of the Act also requires such 
contracting authorities to co-operate with any investigation of their procurement 
practises carried out on behalf of Minister for the Cabinet Office.  
5. Article 6 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (an EU Directive retained in UK law by the 
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018) requ ires central government departments to 
purchase highly energy efficient products, services and buildings. This is a qualified duty 
and does not apply where this is not cost effective or does not allow effective 
competition. There is also a requirement to e ncourage other public bodies including local 
and regional government to follow the example of central government.  
Other laws – applicable to local authorities  
There are three additional laws in the UK which regulate public procurement by local authorities.  
1. Section 135 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires local authorities to make their 
own standing orders (i.e. internal rules) with respect to the making of contracts for the 
supply of goods or materials or the execution of works and empowers them to do so for 
all contracts.  
2. Section 22(1) of the Local Government Act 1988 states that local authorities and various 
other public bodies of a local and specialist nature which maintain an approved list of 
persons approved for or interested in public suppli ers, services or works contracts 
cannot require a person to pay any sum as a condition of inclusion (or continued 
inclusion) in the list, or of being considered for inclusion.  
3. The Local Government (Transparency Requirements) (England) Regulations 2015 
require certain information, including information about public contracts to be published 
in a specific manner and form and on the occasions specified.  
Other laws – sector specific  
There are several other laws in the UK which apply to public procurement in specific sectors, namely 
defence and national security procurement and health services procurement. Neither of these sectors 
are within the UK's coverage offer for the GPA so they are not described here.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  There is only one sector specific law which falls wi thin the UK's coverage offer for the GPA. Section 
89 of the Transport Act 1985 requires tendering when an authority responsible for expenditure on 
public passenger transport services provides a subsidy for another party to provide those services. 
The autho rity must invite tenders for the services in such manner as the authority considers 
appropriate to inform those who might be interested, and from anyone giving a written notice of 
their interest and must determine which, if any, tenders to select with rega rd in particular to a 
combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness and the reduction or limitation of traffic 
congestion, noise or air pollution.  
Policy guidelines  
The UK government provides domestic guidance, including statutory guidance, on best practice for 
public sector procurement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the form of Procurement Policy 
Notes, copies of which are available on https://www.gov.uk/ . The Scottish government also provides 
domestic guidance in the form of Scottish Procurement Policy Notes, copies of which are available 
on http://www.gov.scot . The Procurement Policy Notes and Scottish Procurement Policy Notes are 
not legally binding, unless they are  statutory guidance, and state which public sector bodies they 
apply to in each instance.  
The Scottish Government has also published statutory guidance under the terms of the Procurement 
Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, which contracting authorities must have r egard to. This is available on 
http://www.gov.scot . 
Administrative rulings  
Claims for breach of UK laws relating to public procurement are brought in the High Court in England, 
Wales and Northern Ireland7 or the Sheriff Court or Court of Session in Scotland.8 Rulings of these 
courts are legally binding.  
1.3.  To what extent will the provisions of the Agreement be applied directly or need to be 
transposed into the relevant law? In the event of direct application of the Agreement  over 
conflicting provisions of domestic law, please indicate the relevant legal basis.  
The provisions of the GPA do not apply directly in the UK and have been transposed into UK law 
since they came into force on 1 January 1996. The six main Regulations described in section 1.1 
above expressly state that obligations on contracting authorities and contracting entities to comply 
with the regulations are duties owed to economic operators from GPA states in procurements to 
which the GPA applies.9 This means that, where the GPA applies, economic operators from GPA 
states have enforceable rights in UK law.  
When the UK becomes an independent party of the GPA, amendments will be required to the UK 
Regulations to implement the GPA as an independent part y. The Trade Bill, which is available on 
the UK Parliament's website at https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2019 -21/trade.html, contains a 
power at clause 1 for any Minister of the Crown or devolved administration to make regulations for 
the purpose of im plementing the GPA. The Bill will also provide the UK with a power to keep its laws 
up to date with changes to the GPA such as any new accessions or withdrawals from the GPA and 
any changes to domestic law required to implement changes to the UK 's list of entities or respond 
to modifications or rectification by other parties to their Appendix I.  
 
7 See Regulation 91 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 106 of the UCR 2016 and Regulation 52 of the CCR  2016.  
8 See Regulation 88 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 101 o f the UCSR 201 6 and Regulation 52 of the 
CCSR  2016.  
9 See Regulation 90(1) of the PCR 2015, Regulation 105(1) of the UCR 2016, Regulation 51(1) of the CCR 
2016, Regulation 87(2) of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 100(1) of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 51(2) of t he 
CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  2  SCOPE AND COVERAGE  
2.1.  Please summarize the organization of the government in your country at each level.  
Centr al government  
The Prime Minister leads the government with the support of the Cabinet and ministers. The 
government's parliamentary representatives are chosen by a general election and these people 
collectively make decisions in the House of Commons through a voting system. The most recent 
general election took place on 12 December 2019.  
The Fixed -term Parliaments Act 2011 sets the interval between general elections at five years. At 
the end of this time a new House of Commons must be elected.  
However, there are two provisions that trigger an electi on other than at five year intervals:  
• a motion of no confidence is passed in Her Majesty's Government by a simple majority 
and 14 days elapses without the House passing a confidence motion in any new 
Government formed; and  
• a motion for a general election i s agreed by two thirds of the total number of seats in the 
Commons including vacant seats (currently 434 out of 650).  
The general election is an opportunity for UK citizens to vote for their Member of Parliament who is 
the person who will represent their l ocal area (constituency) in the House of Commons for up to five 
years. The next election is due to be held in May 2024.  
The Cabinet is made up of the senior members of government. Every week during Parliament, 
members of the Cabinet (Secretaries of State f rom all departments and some other senior members 
of government) meet to discuss the most important issues for the government.  
Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister from the members of the House of Commons and House 
of Lords. The House of Lords is the  second chamber of the UK Parliament.  
The UK is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, each of which is represented by one Member 
of Parliament in the House of Commons.  
The constituency breakdown across the UK is as follows:  
• 533 constituencies in E ngland;  
• 59 in Scotland;  
• 40 in Wales and  
• 18 in Northern Ireland.  
There are a range of different types of central government entities in the UK. The principal ones are 
as follows:  
Ministerial departments: these are government departments with their own minis ter. 
Non-ministerial departments: these are government departments in their own right but do not have 
their own minister. They are accountable to Parliament through their sponsoring ministers.  
Non-departmental public bodies: these are bodies which have a r ole in the processes of national 
government, but they are not government departments nor are they part of them and, accordingly, 
they operate to a greater or lesser extent at arm's length from ministers. Non -departmental public 
bodies have different roles,  including those that advise ministers and others which carry out 
executive or regulatory functions, and they work within a strategic framework set by ministers.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  Executive agencies: these are clearly designated units of a central government department. The y 
are administratively distinct from the department but they do not have separate legal personality 
and they remain legally part of the department. They have a clear focus on delivering specific outputs 
within a framework of accountability to ministers.  
Public corporations/trading funds: public corporations are bodies which are market bodies (i.e. they 
derive more than 50% of their production costs from the sale of goods or services at market prices) 
which are controlled by government but they have substant ial day to day operating independence 
so they are separate from their parent departments. Trading funds are used where activities of a 
government department generate income from the supply of goods and services. Most trading funds 
are classified as public corporations.  
Devolution  
The UK Parliament has devolved certain political and administrative powers to devolved legislatures 
in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In September 1997, referendums were held in Scotland 
and Wales, and a majority of voters c hose to establish a Scottish Parliament and a National Assembly 
for Wales. In Northern Ireland, devolution was a key part of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 
supported by voters in a referendum in May 1998. The UK Parliament passed three devolution Acts : 
the Scotland Act 1998; the Northern Ireland Act 1998; and the Government of Wales Act 1998 
(which was later effectively superseded by the Government of Wales Act 2006). These acts 
established the three devolved legislatures, which were given some powers previously held by the 
UK Parliament. Further powers have been devolved since these original Acts, most recently through 
the Scotland Act 2016 and Wales Act 2017.  
The UK Parliament remains sovereign and retains the power to amend the devolution Acts or to 
legislate on anything that has been devolved. The Government has made clear it will not normally 
legislate on a devolved matter without the consent of the devolved legislature.  
One of the main differences between Parliament and the devolved legislatures is  in the way members 
are elected. Whilst all Members of Parliament are elected using first -past-the-post,  
elections to the devolved legislatures involve an element of proportional representation. Members 
of the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales are elected to represent either a 
constituency using first -past-the-post, or a region on the additional member system, which uses the 
d'Hondt model of proportional representation. Members elected in different ways have equal roles 
in the se two legislatures. All members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are elected on the single 
transferable vote form of proportional representation.  
In a similar way to how the UK Government is formed from members from the two Houses of 
Parliament, members o f the devolved legislatures nominate ministers from among themselves to 
comprise an executive, known as the devolved administrations, as follows:  
• the Scottish Government is a minority government formed by the Scottish National Party;  
• the Welsh Government i s a minority government formed by the Labour Party; and  
• the Northern Ireland Executive is formed of a power -sharing executive, as established in 
the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Executive Committee is made up of Ministers from the 
Democratic Unionist Par ty, Sinn Féin and other parties.  
Officials in the devolved administrations do not serve the same ministers as HM Government; that 
is they do not work to the Prime Minister or to Secretaries of State who form the Cabinet, but to 
their own ministers with th eir own political priorities and mandates.  
Within the UK Government, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are each represented in Cabinet 
by a territorial Secretary of State, who ensures the smooth running of the devolution settlements 
and acts as the lync hpin of the relationship between the devolved administration and Government.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  The responsibilities of the territorial Secretaries of State are:  
• handling legislation as it affects the territory;  
• representing the territory's interests in Cabinet and Cabinet committees;  
• responding to parliamentary interests in territorial affairs;  
• transmitting the block grant to the devolved administration;  
• supporting collaboration between HM Government and the devolved administration; and  
• promoting the interests of the territ ory. 
Each devolved territory has its own department, responsible for liaising between the UK Government 
and the relevant territory.  
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UK Government and the devolved 
administrations in Scotland, Wales and Nort hern Ireland was first agreed in 2001 and most recently 
updated in October 2013. It sets out the principles which support relations between these 
administrations. The MoU puts emphasis on the principles of good communication, consultation and 
cooperation.  
Concordats between the Government and the devolved administrations recognise the interest of the 
latter in aspects of international and EU relations, matters which remain the responsibility of UK 
Government, and set out working arrangements to deal with th em. A large number of further 
concordats have been agreed between UK departments and the devolved administrations.  
Local government  
The sub -central level of UK government consists of local government. The number of local authorities 
across the UK are: 343 in England, 22 in Wales, 32 in Scotland and 11 in Northern Ireland.  
Local government in England operates under four different arrangements. Firstly, non -metropolitan 
counties/districts operate a two tier system, with county councils responsible for waste m anagement, 
education, libraries, social services, transport, strategic planning, consumer protection, police, fire, 
and district councils responsible for housing, waste collection, council tax collection, local planning, 
licensing, cemeteries and crematori a. Secondly, unitary authorities operate a single tier system, with 
responsibility for all local government services. Thirdly, several areas in the UK are designated as 
metropolitan counties, which are administered by metropolitan district councils, with t he same 
responsibilities as district councils. Finally, London is divided into 33 local authorities, 32 of which 
are London boroughs, each of which is governed by a London borough council, and the 33rd is the 
City of London. London borough councils are res ponsible for providing the majority of local 
government services.  
In both Wales and Scotland there is a single tier system of local government providing all local 
government services.  
In Northern Ireland there are elected local borough, city and district councils which provide services 
such as waste disposal, street cleaning and recreation; however the majority of services are 
the responsibility of other organisations.  
2.2.  Please list all central government entities (ministries, departments, agencies, etc.) 
procuring goods, services and construction services.  
As described in section 2.1 above, there are a range of different types of central government entities 
in the UK. UK public procurement legislation applies to central government entities, but the precise 
rules which apply will depend on the nature of the body.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  In the UK, the PCR 2015 and PCSR 2015 apply to "contracting authorities" which covers the State, 
regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law or associations formed by one or more 
such authorities or one or more such bodies governed by public law, and includes central government 
authorities, but does not include Her Majesty in her private capacity. "Central government 
authorities" are defined as meaning the Crown and all the bodies list ed in Schedule 1 of the PCR 
2015 (whether or not they perform their functions on behalf of the Crown) and, in Scotland, all the 
bodies listed in Schedule 1 of the PCSR 2015. In respect of both lists, where such authority is 
succeeded by another authority w hich is itself a contracting authority, the successor body is deemed 
to be included in the list.  
Certain types of central government entities are "central government contracting authorities", either 
because they are part of the Crown and/or because they ar e listed in the legislation or have 
succeeded a body which is listed. For example, this includes ministerial departments, non -ministerial 
departments, executive agencies and trading funds. Other types of central government entities are 
not "central governm ent contracting authorities" but they are still "contracting authorities". For 
example, this includes most non -departmental public bodies as these bodies are not part of the 
Crown due to their arm's length relationship with government. There are limited di fferences between 
the rules which apply to "central government contracting authorities" and all other "contracting 
authorities", as explained in section 2.5 below.  
The UK has committed to notify the GPA Committee of proposed rectifications to the lists of entities 
in its Annexes 1 to 3 of Appendix I, within three months of the GPA entering into force for the UK in 
its own right. This notification will reflect the operation of Footnote 1 to Annex 1 of the UK 's market 
access offer to reflect where th e functions of an entity listed in Annex 1 have been transferred to 
another entity for example where central government entities have merged or have changed name 
as a result of machinery of government changes.  
2.3.  What entities at the sub -central level of gove rnment (states, provinces, 
municipalities, etc.) procure goods and services?  
At sub -central level of government in the UK, there are a wide range of entities which procure goods 
and services. These include the following categories:  
Categories:  
1. Unitary a uthorities;  
2. County councils;  
3. District councils;  
4. Metropolitan district councils;  
5. London boroughs;  
6. The City of London;  
7. Maintained schools (i.e. community schools, foundation schools, trusts schools, 
voluntary aided schools, voluntary contro lled schools);  
8. Universities and colleges financed for the most part by other contracting authorities;  
9. Research Councils;  
10. Fire and rescue authorities;  
11. NHS foundation trusts and other trusts;  
12. Police authorities;  
13. National special police forces (i.e. British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary 
Ministry of Defence Police and National Police Air Service);  
14. Waste authorities;  
15. Park authorities;  
16. New Town Development Corporations;  
17. Registered Social Landlords;  
18. Register ed Housing Associations;  
19. Private registered providers of social housing;  
20. Certain other bodies which are bodies governed by public law as defined in the PCR 
2015 and the PCSR 2015 (e.g. Design Council).  
Some entities are covered in the GPA coverage offer as sub -central entities where they are in fact 
listed above as central government entities (as explained in section 2.2 above). This is because they GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  are central government entities but they do not meet the definition of "central government 
contractin g authorities" so they are treated as sub -central entities in UK procurement legislation and 
in the GPA. This is a feature of the UK's current coverage under the GPA. Updates to the list of 
indicative entities in this category will be reflected in the Arti cle XIX notification which the UK will 
notify to the Committee within three months of the GPA entering into force for the UK in its own 
right. 
2.4.  Which are the enterprises owned or controlled by the government that are subject 
to the rules on government procurement? Which are the other entities or categories of 
entities (Annex  3-type entities) owned and controlled by the government that engage in 
procurement? Please specify.  
The list contained in the UK schedule of commitments provides an indic ation of the types of bodies 
that are covered by the UK's GPA offer. Updates to the list of indicative entities in this category will 
be reflected in the Article XIX notification which the UK will notify to the Committee within three 
months of the GPA ente ring into force for the UK in its own right  
2.5.  Do procuring entities listed in response to questions 5, 6 and 7 apply in their 
procurement the main law (if one exists), other legislation provided by the federal or 
central level of government or are they auton omous from federal or central government 
in their procurement rules and practices? Where any of these procuring entities are not 
subject to the main procurement law, please list the procuring entities concerned and 
indicate which laws, regulations, etc., t hey are subject to. How will your government 
ensure the implementation of the Agreement by such procuring entities below the 
central/federal government level?  
The PCR 2015 and the PCSR 2015 apply to central government contracting authorities and to other 
contracting authorities with respect to public works, public services and public supply contracts. 
These laws apply to all entities covered by Annex 1 and Annex 2 of the draft UK schedules. There 
are three differences in how these laws apply to other contra cting authorities as opposed to central 
government contracting authorities.  
1. The thresholds above which procurements are fully regulated are higher for entities other than 
central government authorities.  
2. Entities other than central government authorities can use a prior information notice (rather 
than a contract notice) as a call for competition in certain procedures.  
3. Entities other than central government authorities can set a time limit for the receipt of tenders 
by mutual agreement between the authorit y and all selected bidders in certain procedures, provided 
that all selected bidders have the same time to prepare and submit their tenders.  
The UCR 2016 and the UCSR 2016 apply to utilities operating in the water, energy, transport and 
postal services sec tors (referred to as "contracting entities"). These laws apply to all entities covered 
by Annex 3 of the draft UK schedules.  
The CCR 2016 and the CCSR 2016 apply to contracting authorities and contracting entities covered 
by the PCR 2015, the PCSR 2015, th e UCR 2016 and the UCSR 2016 with respect to works or services 
concession contracts. These laws apply to all entities covered by Annex 1, Annex 2 and Annex 3 of 
the draft UK schedules.  
2.6.  Are there any general exceptions from the scope of application of the n ational 
procurement rules, for instance for essential national defence or security reasons? Please 
provide details.  
There are general exclusions from the application of UK laws relating to public procurement as 
follows:  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  1. Public works, services and suppli es contracts and concession contracts for the provision 
or exploitation of public communications networks or the provision of electronic 
communications services.10 
2. Public works, services and supplies contracts and concession contracts where the 
contracti ng authority or utility is obliged to award the contract or the contract is fully 
financed by an international organisation or institution.11 
3. Specific public service contracts and concession contracts:  
 (i) for the acquisition or rental of, or which concern interests in or rights over, land, 
existing buildings or immovable property;  
(ii) for the acquisition, development, production or co -production of programme 
material intended for audiovisual media services or radio media services, that are 
awarded by audiovisual or radio media service providers or broadcasting time or 
programme provision that are awarded to audiovisual or radio media service 
providers;  
(iii) for arbitration or conciliation services;  
(iv) for legal representation of a client by a law yer in arbitrations or conciliations or 
judicial proceedings before the courts, tribunals or public authorities or for legal 
advice given in preparation of such proceedings or where there is a high likelihood 
the matter will become the subject of such proc eedings;  
(v) document certification and authentication services which must be provided by 
notaries;  
(vi) legal services provided by trustees or appointed guardians or other legal services 
the providers of which are designated by a court or tribunal or are designated by 
law to carry out specific tasks under the supervision of such tribunals or courts;  
(vii) other legal services which are connected with the exercise of official authority;  
(viii) financial services in connection with the issue, sale, purchase  or transfer of 
securities or other financial instruments, central bank services or operations 
conducted with the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability 
Mechanism;  
(ix) for loans;  
(x) which are employment contracts;  
(xi) for civil defence, civil protection, and danger prevention services that are provided 
by non -profit organisations or associations;  
(xii) for public passenger transport services by rail or metro;  
(xiii) for political campaign services when awarded by a pol itical party in the context 
of an election campaign.12 
4. Public service contracts awarded by a contracting authority or utility to another 
contracting authority or utility and concession contracts awarded by a contracting 
authority or utility to another co ntracting authority or utility on the basis of an exclusive 
right.13 
5. Public works, services and supplies contracts and concession contracts between entities 
in the public sector where specific tests as to control and activities are met.14 
 
10 See Regulation 8 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 10(11) of the CCR 2016, Regulation 9 of the PCSR 2015 
and Regulation 13 of the CCSR 2016.  
11 See Regulation 9 of the PCR 2015, Regulations 10(5) and 10(6) of the CCR 2016, Regulation 20 of the 
UCR 2016, Regulation 10 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 10 of the CCSR 2016 and Regulation 19 of the UCSR 
2016.  
12 See Regulation 10 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 10(11) of the CCR  2016, Regulation 21 of the UCR  2016, 
Regulation 11 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 12 o f the CCSR 201 6 and Regulation 20 of the UCSR  2016.  
13 See Regulation 11 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 10(1) of the CCR  2016, Regulation 22 of the UCR  2016, 
Regulation 12 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 9 of the CCSR 2016 and Regulation 21 of the UCSR  2016.  
14 See Regulation 12 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 17 of the CCR 2016, Regulation 28 of the UCR 2016, 
Regulation 13 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 19 of the CCSR 2016 and Regulation 27 of the UCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  6. Public servic e contracts for research and development service unless the benefits accrue 
exclusively to the contracting authority or utility for use in the conduct of its own affairs 
and the service is wholly remunerated by the contracting authority.15 
7. Defence and se nsitive security procurements by contracting authorities and contracting 
entities.16 
8. Concession contracts for air transport services based on the granting of an operating 
licence or public passenger transport services.17 
9. Concession contracts awarded to  provide or operate fixed networks intended to provide 
a service to the public in connection with the production, transport or distribution of 
drinking water, concession contracts awarded to supply drinking water to such networks 
and concession contracts f or hydraulic engineering projects, irrigation or land drainage, 
provided that the volume of water to be used for the supply of drinking water represents 
more than 20% of the total volume of water made available by such projects or irrigation 
or drainage in stallations, or the disposal or treatment of sewage.18 
10. Public works, services and supplies contracts and concession contracts awarded by a 
utility or group of utilities to an affiliated undertaking or by an affiliated undertaking to 
a utility or group o f utilities.19 
11. Public works, services and supplies contracts for utilities awarded for purposes of resale 
or lease to third parties, provided that the utility enjoys no special or exclusive right to 
sell or lease the subject -matter of such contracts, an d other entities are free to sell or 
lease it under the same conditions as the utility.20 
12. Public works, services or supplies contracts for utilities awarded for purposes other than 
the pursuit of specified activities or for the pursuit of such activitie s in a third country 
(i.e. a country other than the UK).21 
13. Public contracts for the purchase of water if awarded by utilities engaged in specific 
activities relating to drinking water or awarded by utilities which are active in the energy 
sector by enga ging in specified activities for the supply of energy or fuels for the 
production of energy.22 
2.7.  Please provide available statistics on the procurement by government entities in your 
country in the last two years, including, to the extent available, a breakdo wn by procuring 
entity and by categories of goods and services.  
The Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) are national statistics published yearly by the UK 
Treasury. PESA contains information about public spending using two Treasury -defined frame works, 
described in the table below.  
 
15 See Regulation 14 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 32 of the UC R 2016, Regulation 15 of the PCSR 2015 
and Regulation 31 of the UCSR 2016.  
16 See Regulation 15 of the PCR 2015, Regulations 10(9) and 20(10) of the CCR 2016, Regulation 24 of 
the UCR 2016, Regulation 16 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 11 of the CCSR 2016 and Regulation 23 of the UCSR 
2016.  
17 See Regulation 10(4) of the CCR 2016.  
18 See Regulation 12 of the CCR 2016 and Regulation 14 of the CCSR 2016.  
19 See Regulations 13 and 14 of the CCR 2016, Regulations 29 and 30 of the UCR 2016, Regulations 15 
and 16 of  the CCSR 2016 and Regulations 28 and 29 of the UCSR 2016.  
20 See Regulation 18 of the UCR 2016 and Regulation 17 of the UCSR 2016.  
21 See Regulation 19 of the UCR 2016 and Regulation 18 of the UCSR 2016.  
22 See Regulation 23 of the UCR 2016 and Regulation 22  of the UCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  Budgeting  Expenditure on services  
This framework provides information on central 
government departmental budgets, which are 
the aggregates used by the Government to plan 
and control expenditure. It covers departmental 
own spending as well as support to local 
government and public corporations.  This framework is used in PESA for statistical 
analysis. It is based on National Accounts 
definitions and covers spending by the whole of 
the public sector. It theref ore has wider 
coverage than the budgeting framework and is 
also more stable over time.  
 
Procurement is divided into two categories: current and capital.  
Gross current procurement  shows expenditure on goods and services, including accommodation 
and buildin g management, ICT outsourcing, maintenance and support, travel costs and payments 
for consultancy and audit services. It also includes the purchase of services from GPs.  
Gross capital procurement  comprises the acquisition of fixed assets (such as land, bui ldings and 
machinery). It is measured gross of depreciation. It includes the pay of civil servants engaged in in -
house capital formation that is recorded as capital expenditure, rather than as pay.  
For further information see the full publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public -
expenditure -statistical -analyses -pesa. 
Tables 1 and 2 show current and capital procurement by central government  departmental groups 
using the budgeting framework.  
Tables 3 and 4 show current and capital procurement by the public sector as a whole (including local 
government procurement) using the expenditure framework. This is divided by function of 
government.  
Table 1: Gross current procurement in budgets, 2016 -2017 to 2017 -2018  
 £ million  
2016-17 2017-18 
outturn  outturn  
Gross current procurement in budgets     
Defence  11,017  11,510  
Single Intelligence Account  1,107  1,198  
Home Office  2,508  2,607  
Foreign and Commonwealth Office  592 680 
International Development  1,170  1,117  
NHS (Health)  65,911  70,767  
Work and Pensions  2,063  1,857  
Education  4,716  5,262  
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy  2,020  2,046  
Transport  3,792  4,312  
Exiting the European Union  11 23 
Culture, Media and Sport  3,263  3,148  
DCLG Communities  318 124 
DCLG Local Government  - - 
Scotland  8,071  10,158  
Wales  3,854  3,856  
Northern Ireland  4,154  4,204  
Justice  4,873  5,031  
Law Officers' Departments  292 323 
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs  895 915 
HM Treasury  201 221 
HM Revenue & Customs  1,365  1,238  
Cabinet Office  286 395 GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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   £ million  
2016-17 2017-18 
outturn  outturn  
Gross current procurement in budgets     
International Trade  203 214 
Small and Independent Bodies  650 689 
Total gross current procurement in budgets  123,332  131,895  
Source:  PESA 2018, table 2.2  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public -
expenditure -statistical -analyses -2018 . 
Table 2: Gross capital procurement in  budgets, 2016 -2017 to 2017 -2018  
  £ million  
2016-17 2017-2018 
outturn  outturn  
Gross capital procurement in budgets      
Defence  8,836  9,737  
Single Intelligence Account  631 623 
Home Office  347 437 
Foreign and Commonwealth Office  104 142 
International Development  64 252 
NHS (Health)  4,850  4,709  
Work and Pensions  181 341 
Education  2,630  2,106  
Business, Innovation and Skills  3,157  3,430  
Transport  9,463  10,359  
Exiting the European Union  - 1 
Digital Culture, Media and Sport  591 331 
MHLCG – Housing and Communities  231 395 
Scotland  591 1,213  
Wales  588 680 
Northern Ireland  1,052  980 
Justice  436 445 
Law Officers' Departments  13 10 
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs  244 267 
HM Revenue & Customs  3 8 
HM Treasury  328 308 
Cabinet Office  49 123 
International Trade  6 15 
Small and Independent Bodies  115 177 
Total gross capital procurement in budgets  35,120  36,951  
Source:  PESA 2018, table 2.3 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public -
expenditure -statistical -analyses -2018 
Table 3: Public sector gross current procurement expenditure on services by function, 
2016 -2017 to 2017 -2018  
 £ million  
2016-17 2017-2018 
outturn  outturn  
Public sector gross current procurement 
expenditure on services    
1. General public services  11,583  11,722  
of which: public and common services  8,594  8,692  
of which: international services  2,989  3,030  
2. Defence  15,957  16,472  
3. Public order and safety  12,867  13,221  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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   £ million  
2016-17 2017-2018 
outturn  outturn  
Public sector gross current procurement 
expenditure on services    
4. Economic affairs  12,144  12,334  
of which: enterprise and economic 
development  2,265  2,101  
of which: science and technology  35  23  
of which: employment policies  1,269  1,095  
of which: agriculture, fisheries and forestry  827  783  
of which: transport (1) 7,748  8,331  
5. Environment protection  7,623  7,758  
6. Housing and community amenities  2,645  2,552  
7. Health  86,631  89,927  
8. Recreation, culture and religion  6,744  6,438  
9. Education  23,804  24,723  
10. Social protection  33,835  33,984  
Total public sector gross current procurement 
expenditure on services   
213,833  219,130  
Source:  PESA 2018 , table 5.5 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public -
expenditure -statistical -analyses -2018. 
Table 4: Public sect or capital procurement expenditure on services by function, 
2016 -2017 to 2017 -2018  
 £ million  
2016-2017 2016-2017 
outturn  outturn  
Public sector gross capital procurement 
expenditure on services      
1. General public services  3,462  3,802  
of which: public and common services  3,321  3,459  
of which: international services  141 333 
2. Defence  9,504  10,360  
3. Public order and safety  1,790  2,237  
4. Economic affairs  20,262  21,564  
of which: enterprise and economic 
development  1,308  1,637  
of which: science and technology  591 659 
of which: employment policies  62 112 
of which: agriculture, fisheries and forestry  353 396 
of which: transport (1) 17,948  18,760  
5. Environment protection  3,053  3,290  
6. Housing and community amenities  7,326  8,371  
7. Health  6,124  5,980  
8. Recreation, culture and religion  1,813  1,729  
9. Education  8,214  7,350  
10. Social protection  395 508 
Total public sector gross capital procurement 
expenditure on services  61,942  65,192  
Source:  PESA 2018, table 5.6 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public -
expenditure -statistical -analyses -2018. GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  3  NON-DISCRIMINATION  
3.1.  Identify the specific provi sions in the legislation which reflect the non -discrimination 
commitments of Article  IV:1-2 of the Agreement.  
Contracting authorities and contracting entities are required, in relation to covered procurements, 
to offer to the works, services, supplies and economic operators of GPA states treatment that is no 
less favourable than the treatment accorded to the works, supplies, services and economic operators 
of the EU.23 After the end of the transition period this will be amended in the legislation described 
above in the response to question 1.1 to require treatment no less favourable than the treatment 
accorded to the works, supplies, services and economic operators of t he UK.  
In addition, the general principles which apply to public procurement in the UK require contracting 
authorities and contracting entities to treat economic operators equally and without discrimination 
and to act in a transparent and proportionate man ner.24 
3.2.  Please provide details of any provisions in national legislation according domestic 
goods, services and suppliers treatment more favourable than that accorded to foreign 
goods, services or suppliers or according goods, services or suppliers of any co untry more 
favourable treatment than those of any other country.  
There are no such provisions in UK legislation applicable to procurements covered by the UK's GPA 
offer.  
3.3.  Please provide details of any provisions in national legislation allowing a locally 
established supplier to be treated less favourably than another locally established supplier 
on the basis of its degree of foreign affiliation or ownership or discriminating against 
locally established suppliers on the basis of the country of production of t he good or 
service being supplied.  
UK legislation does not distinguish between national suppliers and foreign suppliers. It does not 
discriminate on the basis of the country of establishment, foreign affiliation or ownership nor does 
it discriminate on the  basis of the country of production of the goods or services being supplied.  
3.4.  Please specify to what extent, if at all, more favourable treatment is granted to any 
sectors of the economy, regions or specific categories of suppliers or goods/services.  
UK leg islation requires that technical specifications are laid down in the procurement documents.25 
It also requires that they must afford equal access of economic operators to the procurement 
procedure and must not have the effect of creating unjustified obstacl es to the opening up of public 
procurement to competition.26 
UK legislation says that technical specifications must not refer to a specific make or source, or a 
particular process which characterises the products or services provided by a specific economic 
operator, or to trade marks, patents, types or a specific origin or production with the effect of 
favouring or eliminating certain undertakings or certain products.27 There is a limited exception to 
this, which applies only on an exceptional basis,  where a sufficiently precise and intelligible 
 
23 See Regulation 25 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 43 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 26 of the PCSR 2015 
and Regulation 41 of the UCSR 2016.  
24 See Regulation 18(1) of the PCR 2015, Regulation 8(1) of the CCR 2016, Regulation 36(1) of the UCR 
2016, Regulation 19(1) of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 28(1) of the CCSR 2016 and Regulation 34(1) of the UCSR 
2016.  
25 See Regulation 42(1) of the PCR 2015, Regulation 60(1) of the UCR 2016, Regulation 43(1) of the PCSR 
2015 and Regulation 58(1) of the UCSR 20 16. 
26 See Regulation 42(10) of the PCR 2015, Regulation 60(9) of the UCR 2016, Regulation 43(9) of the 
PCSR 2015 and Regulation 58(9) of the UCSR 2016.  
27 See Regulation 42(12) of the PCR 2015, Regulation 60(11) of the UCR 2016, Regulation 43(11) of the 
PCSR 2015 and Regulation 58(11) of the UCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  description of the subject -matter of the contract is not possible and, where this is the case, the 
reference must be accompanied by the words "or equivalent".28 
3.5.  Please specify any provisions requiring or allowi ng the use of offsets or measures 
with similar effect, such as domestic content, licensing of technology, investment, 
counter -trade or similar requirements in the qualification or selection of suppliers, goods 
or services or in the evaluation of tenders an d award of contracts.  
There are no such provisions in UK legislation applicable to procurements covered by the UK's GPA 
offer.  
4  AVOIDANCE OF CONFLIC TS OF INTEREST AND P REVENTION OF CORRUPT  PRACTICES  
4.1.  Article IV:4(b) and (c) of the Agreement require procuring  entities to conduct 
covered procurement in a transparent and impartial manner that "avoids conflicts of 
interest" and "prevents corrupt practices". Please indicate the measures taken in your 
procurement system to ensure compliance with these provisions - whether under your 
procurement legislation or under related legislation.  
The UK has a long history of anti -corruption legislation. The Bribery Act 2010 replaced the Public 
Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889, the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1906 and 1916, and the 
common law offence of bribery. The Bribery Act 2010 has two general offences of bribery: active 
(the giving or promising of an advantage) and passive (the requesting or receiving of a bribe), the 
action of which is intended to induce or reward the improper performance of a function.  
In England and Wales, the Serious Fraud Office is the lead agency for investigating and prosecuting 
overseas corruption for corporate entities. The Crown Prosecution Service prosecutes overseas and 
domestic bribery inves tigated by the police, with the comparable Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal 
Service tasked with prosecuting crime in Scotland.  
In the public sector, the Civil Service Code states that Civil Servants must not, "accept gifts or 
hospitality or receive other  benefits from anyone which might reasonably be seen to compromise 
your personal judgement or integrity". The statutory basis for the Civil Service Code is in Part 1 of 
the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Similarly, the Ministerial Code stat es that no 
minister should accept gifts, hospitality or services from anyone who would, or might appear to, 
place him or her under an obligation.  
The general principles which apply to public procurement significantly mitigate the risk of corrupt 
practices  in procurements. UK procurement legislation requires contracting authorities and 
contracting entities to treat economic operators equally and without discrimination and shall act in 
a transparent and proportionate manner.29 
In addition, the PCR 2015, UCR 2 016, PCSR 2015 and UCSR 2016 require contracting authorities 
and contracting entities to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy 
conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures to avoid any distortion of  
competition and to ensure equal treatment of all economic operators.30 The CCR 2016 and the CCSR 
2016 require contracting authorities and contracting entities to take appropriate measures to combat 
fraud, favouritism and corruption and to effectively preve nt, identify and remedy conflicts of interest 
arising in the conduct of concession contract award procedures to avoid any distortion of competition 
and to ensure the transparency of the award procedure and the equal treatment of all candidates 
and tenderer s.31 In practice, in the case of conflict of interests in a procurement process, the relevant 
 
28 See Regulation 42(13) of the PCR 2015, Regulation 60(12) of the UCR 2016, Regulation 43(12) of the 
PCSR 2015 and Regulation 58(12) of the UCSR 2016.  
29 See Regulation 18(1) of the PCR 2015, Regulation 8(1) of  the CCR 2016, Regulation 36(1) of the UCR 
2016, Regulation 19(1) of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 28(1) of the CCSR 2016 and Regulation 34(1) of the UCSR 
2016.  
30 See Regulation 24 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 42 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 25 of the PCSR 2015 
and Regulation 40 of the UCSR 2016.  
31 See Regulation 35 of the CCR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  individual from the contracting authority or utility withdraws from their role in the procurement and 
is replaced with someone who does not have a conflict of inte rest. 
5  ELEMENTS SPECIFIC TO  PROCUREMENT PROCEDU RES 
5.1.  Please provide a general description of your existing procurement methods and 
procedures, including the main  procurement methods used and a brief description of each 
method, and the extent to which qualific ation of suppliers and open, selective and limited 
tendering for each level of government is used.  
Public contracts and utilities contracts for works, services and supplies  
Contract award procedures are stipulated in PCR 2015, UCR 2016, PCSR 2015 and UCSR 2016 as 
follows:  
• open procedure;  
• restricted procedure;  
• competitive dialogue procedure;  
• competitive procedure with negotiation/the negotiated procedure;  
• negotiated procedure without prior publication;  
• innovation partnership procedure; and  
• light touch proce dure.32 
The open procedure and the restricted procedure can be used by contracting authorities and 
contracting entities at their choice without the need to meet any requirements. The open procedure 
is carried out in a single phase and any interested economi c operator may submit a tender in 
response to a call for competition which sets out the contracting authority or contracting entity's 
requirements. The contracting authority or contracting entity can include requirements for 
qualification in the notice. Th e restricted procedure is a two-stage  process whereby any economic 
operator may submit a request to participate in response to a call for competition. At the first stage, 
the call for competition must set out the requirements, the selection criteria, the m inimum number 
of candidates planned to be invited to tender and, if necessary, the maximum number of candidates. 
The contracting authority or contracting entity carries out a pre -qualification of economic operators, 
selecting only the qualified candidates on the basis of the selection criteria. At the second stage, the 
qualified candidates are invited to submit tenders which are evaluated on the basis of award criteria 
set out in the procurement documents.  
The competitive dialogue procedure and the negotiat ed procedure can be used for utilities contracts 
without restriction. The competitive dialogue procedure and the competitive procedure with 
negotiation for public contracts for works, services or supplies can be used where the contracting 
authority's needs  cannot be met without adaptation, where they include design or innovative 
solutions, or where the contract cannot be awarded without prior negotiation.  
The competitive dialogue procedure is carried out in three stages. The first stage is the same as the 
first stage of the restricted procedure. The contracting authority or contracting entity must set out 
in a call for competition its requirements, the selection criteria, the minimum number of candidates 
planned to be invited to tender and, if necessary, the  maximum number of candidates. The second 
stage is the dialogue phase which is carried out with all selected candidates. The aim of the dialogue 
is for the contracting authority or contracting entity to identify and define the means best suited to 
satisfyi ng their needs. All aspects of the procurement may be discussed with the candidates during 
this dialogue. The dialogue can take place in successive stages to reduce the number of solutions to 
be discussed during the dialogue by applying the award criteria.  At the third stage, the contracting 
 
32 See Regulations 26 - 30 of the PCR 2015, Regulations 44 - 48 of the PCR 2016, Regulations 27 – 31 of 
the PCRSR 2015 and Regulations 42 – 46 of the UCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  authority or contracting entity declares the dialogue concluded and invites the remaining candidates 
to submit final tenders. This stage is the same as the second stage of the restricted procedure.  
The competitive proce dure with negotiation / negotiated procedure is also a three stage process. 
The first stage is the same as the first stage of the restricted procedure. The contracting authority 
or contracting entity must set out in a call for competition its requirements,  the selection criteria, 
the minimum number of candidates planned to be invited to tender and, if necessary, the maximum 
number of candidates. At the second stage, qualified candidates are invited to submit initial tenders 
which are the basis for subsequen t negotiations. The contracting authority or contracting entity can 
negotiate the initial tenders to improve their content and can undertake the negotiation in successive 
stages in order to reduce the number of solutions to be discussed, including inviting  subsequent 
tenders, which can also be negotiated. The minimum requirements and award criteria cannot be 
subject to negotiation and equal treatment of all tenderers must be ensured. At the third stage, the 
contracting authority or contracting entity inform s the remaining tenderers that the negotiation is 
concluded and invites tenderers to submit new or revised tenders. This stage is the same as 
the second stage of the restricted procedure.  
The negotiated procedure without prior publication can be used in li mited circumstances: where no 
tenders, no suitable tenders, no requests to participate or no suitable requests to participate have 
been submitted in response to an open procedure or a restricted procedure; where the works, 
supplies or services can be suppl ied only by a particular economic operator because the aim of the 
procurement is the creation or acquisition of a unique work of art or artistic performance, competition 
is absent for technical reasons or for the protection of exclusive rights, including i ntellectual property 
rights; or where, insofar as is strictly necessary, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by 
events unforeseeable by the contracting authority or the contracting entity, the time limits for the 
open or restricted procedures or c ompetitive procedure with negotiation cannot be complied with. 
For public supply contracts, the procedure may also be used: where the products involved are 
manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experimentation, study or development; for 
addition al deliveries by the original supplier which are intended either as a partial replacement of 
supplies or installations or as the extension of existing supplies or installations where a change of 
supplier would oblige the contracting authority or contractin g entity to acquire supplies having 
different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical 
difficulties in operation and maintenance; for supplies quoted and purchased on a commodity 
market; of for the purch ase of supplies or services on particularly advantageous terms, from either 
a supplier which is definitively winding up its business activities, or the liquidator in an insolvency 
procedure, an arrangement with creditors, or a similar procedure under natio nal laws or regulations. 
The negotiated procedure without prior publication may be used for new works or services which are 
a repetition of similar works or services entrusted to the economic operator to which the same 
contracting authority or contracting entity awarded an original contract, as long as such works or 
services are in conformity with a basic project for which the original contract was awarded and the 
basic project indicated the extent of possible additional works or services and the conditions  under 
which they will be awarded.  
The innovation partnership procedure is an alternative to the other procedures and can be used 
where the requirement is novel and innovative and allows contracting authorities and suppliers to 
work together through a part nership agreement to develop new products, works or services, where 
these are not already available on the market. The innovation partnership procedure can be 
undertaken in successive stages, the first stage of which is the same as the first stage of the 
restricted procedure. The contracting authority or contracting entity must set out in a call for 
competition its need for an innovative product, service or works and indicate which elements of the 
requirement define the minimum requirements, as well as the selection criteria to be applied. The 
second stage is similar to the second stage of the competitive procedure with negotiation / 
negotiated procedure, whereby the contracting authority or contracting entity can negotiate with 
tenderers the initial and all  subsequent tenders to improve their content. The innovation partnership 
can be set up with one partner or with several partners and must be structured in successive phases 
following the sequence of steps in the research and innovation process. The innovat ion partnership 
must set intermediate targets to be attained by the partners and, based on those targets, the 
contracting authority or contracting entity may decide after each phase to terminate the innovation 
partnership or, in the case of an innovation p artnership with several partners, reduce the number of 
partners by terminating individual contracts.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  The light touch procedure applies where a contracting authority or contracting entity intends to 
award a public contract for social and other specific services above a threshold of £663,540. The 
requirement must be advertised in a call for competition. The  procedures to be applied can be 
determined by the contracting authority or contracting entity but  be at least sufficient to ensure 
compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment of economic operators. The 
procedure must be conducted, a nd any resulting contract awarded, in conformity with the 
information contained in the notice about conditions for participation, time limits for contacting the 
contracting authority or contracting entity and the award procedure to be applied. There are 
exceptions to this where the failure to confirm does not, in the particular circumstances, amount to 
a breach of the principles of transparency and equal treatment of economic operators, the 
contracting authority or contracting entity has given due considera tion to the matter and 
documented that conclusion and the reasons for it and informed the candidates of the respects in 
which it intends to proceed in a way which is not in conformity with the information contained in the 
notice.  
In addition to these proce dures, there are also specific methods for awarding contracts as follows:  
1. Design contests are applied to enable a contracting authority or contracting entity to 
acquire, mainly in the fields of town and country planning, architecture and engineering 
or data processing, a plan or design selected by a jury after being put out to competition 
with or without the award of prizes.  
2. Electronic auctions are applied after an initial evaluation of tenders and during the 
auction, tenderers can revise their tender ed prices downwards and are ranked by 
electronic means.  
3. Framework agreements are written agreements between one or more contracting 
authorities or contracting entities and one or more economic operators, with the 
purpose of establishing the essential te rms that will govern the public contracts to be 
awarded in a certain period.  
4. Qualification systems are a particular method for awarding utilities contracts.  
Concession contracts  
The CCR 2016 gives contracting entities freedom to organise the procurement  procedure subject to 
compliance with the requirements in the regulations.33 The CCSR 2016 set out certain procedural 
guarantees but do not require any particular procedure.34 The requirements in the CCR 2016 and 
the procedural guarantees in the CCSR 2016 ar e very similar and include the following:  
1. The concession contract must be awarded on the basis of the award criteria set out by 
the contracting entity in the concession notice as long as: the tender complies with any 
minimum requirements; the tenderer c omplies with the conditions for participation; and 
the tenderer is not excluded from participating in the award procedure.  
2. The contracting entity may limit the number of tenderers to an appropriate level, on 
condition that this is done in a transparent manner and on the basis of objective criteria. 
The number of candidates or tenderers invited must be sufficient to ensure genuine 
competition.  
3. The contracting entity must communicate to all participants: the description of the 
envisaged organisation of the procedure and an indicative completion deadline; and any 
modification to that procedure or completion deadline. To the extent that any 
modification concerns elements disclosed in the concession notice, the contracting 
entity must advertise it to all ec onomic operators.  
4. The contracting entity must provide for appropriate recording of the stages of the 
procedure using the means it considers appropriate.  
5. The contracting entity may hold negotiations with candidates and tenderers but the 
subject -matter  of the concession contract, the award criteria and the minimum 
requirements must not change during the course of any negotiation.  
 
33 See Regulation 30 of the CCR 2016.  
34 See Regulation 39 of the CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  5.2.  Identify the provision in your country's legislation requiring non -discrimination as 
regards the qualification and selection of suppliers in terms of Article IX of the Agreement. 
Indicate any exception to this requirement. What are the provisions ensuring non -
discriminatory access of new suppliers to existing qualification lists?  
Contracting authorities and contracting entities are required to treat economic operators equally and 
without discrimination and to act in a transparent and proportionate manner.35 These obligations 
apply at all stages of the procurement, including during the qualification and selection stage.  
Qualificati on and selection is permitted in all procurement procedures but economic operators can 
only be excluded on specific grounds listed in UK laws or for failure to meet specific selection criteria 
set by the contracting authority or contracting entity, which m ust be related and proportionate to 
the subject -matter of the contract.36 
UK laws include a list of mandatory exclusion criteria for particularly serious offences under criminal 
and other laws and discretionary exclusion criteria. Discretionary exclusion cr iteria include violation 
of social, environmental and labour laws, bankruptcy or insolvency, grave professional misconduct, 
distortion of competition, conflicts of interest which cannot be effectively remedied, significant or 
persistent deficiencies in per formance of a prior public contract or serious misrepresentation or 
withholding of information. Exclusion on mandatory grounds is for five years, where it relates to 
conviction for a specified serious criminal offence, until the economic operator has fulfi lled its 
obligations, including payment of fines or interest accrued, where it relates to the non -payment of 
taxes, or for three years where it relates to a breach of the Employment Relations Act 1999 
(Blacklists) Regulations 2010 (this latter ground being  a mandatory ground for exclusion in Scotland 
only). The maximum period of exclusion on discretionary grounds is for three years. In both cases, 
economic operators may provide evidence of measures taken by them to demonstrate their reliability 
and, if the evidence is considered to be sufficient, cannot be excluded.  
Under UK laws, selection criteria may relate to suitability to pursue a professional activity, economic 
and financial standing and/or technical and professional ability. Requirements for particip ation must 
be limited to those that are appropriate to ensure an economic operator has the legal and financial 
capacities and the technical and professional abilities to perform the contract to be awarded. All 
requirements must be related and proportionate  to the subject -matter of the contract. Requirements 
for participation must be listed, together with the appropriate means of proof, in the call for 
competition or the invitation to participate.  
5.3.  In situations where qualification procedures and selective tendering may be used, to 
what extent do procuring entities allow suppliers to become qualified during the 
procurement process? To what extent do procuring entities maintain multi -use lists of 
suppliers?  
Qualification and selection is permitted i n all procurement procedures.  
The open procedure and the restricted procedure may be used by contracting authorities and 
contracting entities without any restrictions.  
The competitive dialogue procedure and the negotiated procedure can be used by contracti ng entities 
for utilities contracts without restriction. The competitive dialogue procedure and the competitive 
procedure with negotiation may be used by contracting authorities for public contracts only if certain 
conditions are met. These are described i n section 5.1 above.  
The negotiated procedure without prior publication can be used in specific circumstances described 
in section 5.1 above.  
The innovation partnership procedure can be used where the requirement is novel and innovative.  
 
35 See Regulation 18 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 36 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 19 of the PCRSR 2015 
and Regulation 34 of the UCSR 2016.  
36 See Regulations 57 and 58 of the PCR 2015, Regula tion 76 of the UCR 2016, Regulations 58 and 29 of 
the PCSR 2015 and Regulation 78 of the UCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  The light touch procedure applies where a contracting authority or contracting entity intends to 
award a public contract for social and other specific services above a threshold of £663,540.  
Qualification systems are permitted for utilities contracts under the UCR 2 016 and the UCSR 2016, 
allowing contracting entities to advertise the system and select participants for procurements from 
the participants registered on the system, but permitting economic operators to apply for 
qualification at any time.37 
Other than in t he context of qualification systems, multi -use lists are not used in the UK.  
5.4.  In the light of Article X:6 of the Agreement, please specify whether there is any 
measure in your procurement system to allow procuring entities to prepare, adopt or 
apply technic al specifications to promote the conservation of national resources or protect 
the environment.  
For public contracts or utilities contracts, the characteristics defined by technical specifications may 
include levels of environmental and climate performance .38 Technical specifications may be 
formulated in terms of performance or functional requirements provided that the parameters are 
sufficiently precise to allow tenderers to determine the subject -matter of the contract and to allow 
contracting authorities o r contracting entities to award the contract. Alternatively, technical 
specifications can be formulated by specifications with reference to national standards transposing 
European standards, European Technical Assessments, common technical specifications, 
international standards, other technical reference systems established by the European 
standardisation bodies, or when none of these exist, national standards, national technical approvals 
or national technical specifications relating to the design, calcul ation and execution of the works and 
use of the supplies. A reference to national standards must always be followed by the words "or 
equivalent". Unless justified by the subject -matter of the contract and only on an exceptional basis, 
technical specificati ons must not refer to a specific make or source, or a particular process which 
characterises the products or services provided by a specific economic operator, or to trade marks, 
patents, types or a specific origin or production with the effect of favourin g or eliminating certain 
undertakings or certain products.  
When a contracting authority or contracting entity intends to purchase works, supplies or services 
with specific environmental characteristics, it can require a specific label as means of proof tha t the 
required characteristics are met, provided that all of the following conditions are met39:  
1. The label requirements must only concern criteria which are linked to the subject -matter 
of the contract and are appropriate to define characteristics of th e works, supplies or 
services that are the subject -matter of the contract.  
2. The label requirements must be based on objectively verifiable and non -discriminatory 
criteria.  
3. The labels must be established in an open and transparent procedure in which al l 
relevant stakeholders, including government bodies, consumers, social partners, 
manufacturers, distributors and non -governmental organisations, may participate.  
4. The labels must be accessible to all interested parties.  
5. The label requirements must be  set by a third party over which the economic operator 
applying for the label cannot exercise a decisive influence.  
Where an economic operator had demonstrably no possibility of obtaining the specific label required, 
or an equivalent label, within the rele vant time limits for reasons that are not attributable to that 
economic operator, the contracting authority or contracting entity must accept other appropriate 
means of proof, which may include a technical dossier from the manufacturer, provided that the 
economic operator concerned proves that the works, supplies or services to be provided by it fulfil 
the requirements of the specific label or the specific requirements of the contracting authority or 
contracting entity.  
 
37 See Regulation 77 of the UCR 2016 and Regulation 75 of the UCSR 2016.  
38 See Regulation 42 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 60 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 43 of  the PCSR 2015 
and Regulation 58 of the UCSR 2016.  
39 See Regulation 43 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 61 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 44 of the PCSR 2015 
and Regulation 59 of the UCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  For concession contracts, technical a nd functional requirements must lay down the characteristics 
required of the works or services that are the subject -matter of the concession contract and may 
include environmental and climate performance levels.40 Unless justified by the subject -matter of 
the concession contract and on an exceptional basis only, technical and functional requirements 
must not refer to a specific make or source, or a particular process which characterises the products 
or services provided by a specific economic operator, or to  trade marks, patents, types or a specific 
production with the effect of favouring or eliminating certain undertakings or certain products. 
Contracting authorities and contracting entities must not reject a tender on the grounds that the 
works and services  do not comply with the technical and functional requirements if the tenderer 
proves in its tender that these are satisfied in an equivalent manner.  
5.5.  What are the conditions and circumstances foreseen in your legislation allowing the 
use of the limited tend ering method under Article XIII of the Agreement? What measures 
exist in order to ensure that this method is not used with a view to avoiding maximum 
possible competition or in a manner which would constitute a means of discriminating 
among foreign goods/s ervices/suppliers or in favour of domestic 
goods/services/suppliers?  
UK laws allow use of the limited tendering method in Article XIII of the GPA in specific circumstances 
only. A negotiated procedure without prior publication is permitted in the circumsta nces given in 
section 5.1 above. A light touch procedure applies where a contracting authority or contracting entity 
intends to award a public contract for social and other specific services above a threshold of 
£663,540. The rules which restrict use of th ese procedures and which ensure they are not used in 
a manner which would constitute a means of discrimination are explained in section 5.1 above.  
5.6.  Article  XII of the Agreement allows for negotiation under certain conditions. Are 
procuring entities allowed to proceed to negotiations? If so, which categories and what 
are the conditions imposed?  
Negotiations are permitted with the competitive dialogue procedure, the competitive procedure with 
negotiation / negotiated procedure and the negotiated procedure with out prior publication.  
With the competitive procedure with negotiation under the PCR 2015 and the PCSR 2015, 
negotiations are allowed on the initial and all subsequent tenders, but not the final tender, to improve 
their content. Minimum requirements and a ward criteria cannot be negotiated. During negotiations, 
contracting authorities and contracting entities must ensure equal treatment of all tenderers.41 With 
the negotiated procedure under the UCR 2016 and the UCSR 2016, any economic operator can 
submit a request to participate and only those invited following assessment of the information 
provided may participate.42 
With the competitive dialogue procedure, under the PCR 2015, UCR 206, PCSR 2016 and UCSR 
2016, contracting authorities and contracting entities  can discuss all aspects of the procurement 
during the dialogue and must ensure quality of treatment among all participants and must not 
provide information in a discriminatory manner.43 
With the negotiated procedure without prior publication, this can only  be used in specific 
circumstances which are explained in section 5.1 above.  
5.7.  Article  XI of the Agreement sets out the minimum time -periods for tendering and 
delivery. What are the rules and practices regarding time -periods in your legislation? Does 
the leg islation reflect the various minimum time -periods as set out in the Agreement? If 
not, give information on any different time -periods which have been established in your 
national legislation.  
 
40 See Regulation 36 of the CCR 2016 and Regulation 38 of the CCSR 2016 . 
41 See Regulation 29 of the PCR 2015 and Regulation 30 of the PCRSR 2015.  
42 See Regulation 47 of the UCR 2016 and Regulation 48 of the UCSR 2015.  
43 See Regulation 30 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 48 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 31 of the PCSR 2015 
and Regula tion 46 of the UCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  Minimum time periods apply for receipt of requests to participat e and tenders in respect of each of 
the procedures. The time periods are set out in the provisions relating to each of the procedures 
(see above).  
5.8.  Briefly describe the procedures for the submission, receipt and opening of tenders 
and awarding of contracts,  in particular the procedures and conditions guaranteeing 
regularity of the openings and consistency with the non -discrimination provisions of the 
Agreement. How is the information on the proceedings related to the receipt, opening and 
evaluation of tender s maintained by procuring entities?  
Contracting authorities and contracting entities are required to treat economic operators equally and 
without discrimination and to act in a transparent and proportionate manner.44 These obligations 
apply at all stages of the procurement, including the procedures for the submission, receipt and 
opening of tenders and awarding of contracts.  
In the case of the open procedure, contracting authorities and contracting entities must inclu de in 
the call for competition the time frame during which the tenderer must maintain its tender, the date, 
time and place for the opening of tenders, and the persons authorised to be present at such opening.  
Contracting authorities and contracting entitie s have their own internal rules on the receipt and 
opening of tenders which usually include the following requirements:  
1. Tenders must be unmarked with the name or identity of the economic operator.  
2. Tenders must be logged when received and the date and  time recorded.  
3. Tenders must not be opened prior to the final deadline for receipt of tenders.  
4. Tenders must be opened simultaneously and distributed to evaluators at the same time.  
5.9.  Please identify the provisions in your legislation setting the parame ters for the 
prescription of technical specifications by procuring entities as part of the evaluation 
criteria.  
The provisions in UK law setting the parameters for the prescription of technical specifications are 
described in section 5.4 above.  
5.10.   Identify th e measures in national legislation ensuring that awards are made in 
accordance with the evaluation criteria and essential requirements specified in the tender 
documentation.  
UK laws require that the call for competition must set out the requirement in term s of nature and 
quantity of required works, services or supplies and the criteria to be used for the award of the 
contract, including the criteria to be used to determine the most economically advantageous tender 
and their relative weightings, unless these  are set out in the specifications or, for the competitive 
dialogue procedure, the descriptive document.45 This ensures the economic operator has complete 
information about the award procedure. The contract award criteria cannot be changed during the 
course  of the procurement procedure.  
The PCR 2015, UCR 2016, PCSR 2015 and UCSR 2016 require contracting authorities and contracting 
entities to award contracts on the most economically advantageous tender assessed from the point 
of view of the contracting autho rity or utility. The PCSR 2015 specify that this cannot be based on 
price or cost alone, and the UCSR 2016 specify that it cannot be based on price or cost alone where 
the utility is a contracting authority or public undertaking. In other cases the most ec onomically 
advantageous tender must be identified on the basis of the price or cost, using a cost -effectiveness 
approach. This may include the best price -quality ratio, which must be assessed on the basis of 
criteria, such as qualitative, environmental and /or social aspects, linked to the subject -matter of the 
contract. Contracting authorities must specify the relative weightings of criteria used to determine 
 
44 See Regulation 18 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 36 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 19 of the PCRSR 2015 
and Regulation 34 of the UCSR 2016.  
45 See Regulation 49 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 69 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 31 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 50 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 67 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 33 of the CCSR  2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  the most economically advantageous tender, except where this is assessed on the basis of price 
alone.46 
The CCR 2016 and the CCSR 2016 require that concession contracts are awarded on the basis of 
objective criteria and which ensure that tenders are assessed to identify an overall economic 
advantage for the contracting authority or contracting entity. Aw ard criteria must be linked to the 
subject -matter of the contract and may include environment or social criteria or criteria related to 
innovation. Contracting authorities and contracting entities must list the award criteria in descending 
order of importa nce.47 
6  INFORMATION  
6.1.  Article VI of the Agreement foresees the publication of laws, regulations, judicial 
decisions, administrative rulings of general application and procedures regarding 
government procurement. Please give the name of the relevant publication (s) and 
indicate the media used for this purpose. Please also provide, where available, the address 
of an Internet website where the legislation referred to in questions 1 and 2 can be found.  
Laws on public procurement are published on https://www.legislation.gov.uk . Guidance on best 
practice for public sector procurement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is provided on the 
gov.uk website.48 The Scottish government also provides domestic which is available on the Scottish 
government website.49 
Judicial decisions of English, Welsh and Northern Irish courts are published on 
https://www.judiciary.gov.uk . Judicial decisions by the Scottish courts are published on 
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk . 
6.2.  Article VII:1 of the Agreement foresees the publication of a notice of intended 
procurement for each covered procurement undertaken by a procuring entity. Please give 
the name of the r elevant publication(s) and indicate the media to be used for this purpose. 
Please also provide, where available, the address of an Internet website where such 
notices are published.  
Contracting authorities and contracting entities are required to publish n otices of intended 
procurements, except in limited circumstances such as where the negotiated procedure without prior 
publication is used.50 
Currently, notices must be sent to the EU Publications Office for publication in the Official Journal of 
the Europea n Union ( http://www.ted.europa.eu ).51 At the end of the transition period the UK will 
require publication on the UK Find a Tender Service, being a single web -based portal which is 
provided by or on behalf of the Cabinet Office at www.find -tender.service.gov.uk . 
In accordance with the provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement, procurements which were 
commenced prior to the end of the transition period to continue to require publication of notices in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. T his provision will be implemented by regulations made 
under powers in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended by the European Union 
(Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020.  
 
46 See Regulations 67 and 68 of the PCR 2015, Regulati ons 82 and 83 of the UCR 2016, Regulations 67 
and 68 of the PCSR 2015 and Regulations 80 and 8 1 of the UCSR 2016.  
47 See Regulation 41 of the CCR 2016 and Regulation 44 of the CCSR 2016.  
48 See Part B of the Annex.  
49 See Part C of the Annex.  
50 See Regulations 48 and 49 of the PCR 2015, Regula tions 67 – 69 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 31 of 
the CCR 201 6, Regulations 49 and 50 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 89 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 33 of 
the CCSR 2016.  
51 See Regulation 51 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 71 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 33 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 52 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 69 o f the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 35 of the CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
- 25 - 
 
  6.3.  Please specify the types of information that your legislation requires to be i ncluded 
in notices of intended procurement or in tender documentation, and identify the relevant 
provisions of your legislation.  
Notices of intended procurement and procurement documents must contain a broad range of 
information about the contracting autho rity or contracting entity, the requirement and the 
procurement procedure.52 
Notices of intended procurement must generally include:  
1. The name and contact details of the contracting authority or contracting entity.  
2. An email or internet address from which the procurement documents will be available 
for unrestricted and full direct access free of charge.  
3. The type of contracting authority or contracting entity and its main activities.  
4. Where appropriate, indication that the contracting authority or  contracting entity is a 
central purchasing body or that any other form of joint procurement is involved.  
5. Codes describing the services required.  
6. Codes describing the location of delivery of the services, works or supplies.  
7. The nature and extent o f the works, the nature and quantity or value of supplies, nature 
and the extent of services.  
8. The estimated total order of magnitude of contract(s).  
9. The admission or prohibition of variants.  
10. The timeframe  for delivery or provision of supplies, w orks or services and, as far as 
possible, the duration of the contract.  
11. Conditions for participation.  
12. The type of award procedure.  
13. An indication whether a framework agreement is involved, a dynamic purchasing system 
is involved, or an electroni c auction is involved.  
14. Where the contract is to be subdivided into lots, an indication of the possibility of 
tendering for one, for several or for all of the lots and an indication of any possible 
limitation of the number of lots that may be awarded to  any one tenderer.  
15. Where the contract is not subdivided into lots, an indication of the reasons for that.  
16. In the case of a restricted procedure, a competitive procedure with negotiation / 
negotiated procedure, a competitive dialogue procedure or an  innovation partnership, 
where recourse is made to the option of reducing the number of candidates to be invited 
to submit tenders, to negotiate or to engage in dialogue, the minimum and, where 
appropriate, proposed maximum number of candidates and the obj ective criteria to be 
used to choose the candidates in question.  
17. In the case of a competitive procedure with negotiation / negotiated procedure, a 
competitive dialogue or an innovation partnership, an indication, where appropriate, of 
recourse to a sta ged procedure in order gradually to reduce the number of tenders to 
be negotiated or solutions to be discussed.  
18. Where appropriate, particular conditions to which performance of the contract is 
subject.  
19. Criteria to be used for award of the contract or contracts.  
20. The time limit for receipt of tenders (open procedures) or requests to participate 
(restricted procedures, competitive procedures with negotiation, negotiated procedures, 
dynamic purchasing systems, competitive dialogues, innovation partn erships).  
21. The address to which tenders or requests to participate must be transmitted.  
22. In the case of open procedures:  
(i) the time frame during which the tenderer must maintain its tender;  
(ii) the date, time and place for the opening of tenders;  and 
(iii) persons authorised to be present at such opening.  
23. The language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate must be drawn 
up. 
24. Where appropriate, indication whether:  
(i) electronic submission of tenders or requests to participate will be accepted;  
(ii) electronic ordering will be used;  
 
52 See Regulation 49 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 67 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 31 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 50 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 67 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 33 of the CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
- 26 - 
 
  (iii) electronic invoicing will be accepted; and  
(iv) electronic payment will be used.  
25. The name and address of the body responsible f or review and, where appropriate, 
mediation procedures.  
26. The date of dispatch of the notice.  
27. An indication whether the contract is covered by the GPA.  
28. Any other relevant information.  
In addition, the procurement documents must contain:  
1. An es timated value of the procurement.  
2. The technical specifications.  
3. The minimum requirements for variants.  
4. The objective and non -discriminatory criteria or rules to be applied for determining 
which lots will be awarded where the application of the awa rd criteria would result in 
one tenderer being awarded more lots than the maximum number.  
5. The award criteria and relative weightings.  
6. Any special conditions for the performance of the contract.  
7. For competitive dialogue procedures:  
(i) the subject -matter of the procurement;  
(ii) which elements of the description define the minimum requirements to be met 
by all tenders; and  
(iii) the contract award criteria.  
8. For innovation partnerships:  
(i) the need for an innovative product, service or works that cannot be met by 
purchasing products, services or works already available on the market;  
(ii) which elements of this description define the minimum requirements to be met 
by all tenders; and  
(iii) the arrangements applicable to intellectual property rights.  
6.4.  Article IX:7 of the Agreement foresees publication of multi -use lists of suppliers by 
procuring entities maintaining such lists. Please give the name of the relevant 
publication(s) and indicate t he means used for this purpose. Please also provide, where 
available, the address of an Internet website where such lists are published.  
Qualification systems for utilities contracts can be advertised by publishing a call for competition 
sent to the EU Pub lications Office for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union 
(http://www.ted.europa.eu ).53 At the end of the transition period the UK will require publication on 
the UK Find a Tender Service, being a single web -based portal which is provided by or on behalf of 
the Cabinet Office at www.find -tender.service.gov.uk .  
In accordance with the provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement, procurements which we re 
commenced prior to the end of the transition period will continue to require publication of notices in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. This provision will be implemented by regulations made 
under powers in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act  2018, as amended by the European Union 
(Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020.  
6.5.  Article XVI:2 of the Agreement foresees the publication of details of contract award 
notices by procuring entities. Please give the name of the relevant publication(s) and 
indicate th e means to be used for this purpose. Please also provide, where available, the 
address of an Internet website where such notices are published.  
Contracting authorities and contracting entities are required to publish notices of contract award 
within 30 day s of the date of award.54 
 
53 See Regulations 51 and 106 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 71 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 33 of the CCR 
2016, Regulation 52 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 69 of the UCSR2016 and Regulation 35 of the CCSR 2016.  
54 See Regulation 50 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 69, of the UCR 2016, Regulation 32 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 51 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 68 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 34 of the CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
- 27 - 
 
  Contract award notices must be sent to the EU Publications Office for publication in the Official 
Journal of the European Union ( http://www.ted.europa.eu ).55 At the end of the transition peri od the 
UK will require publication on the UK Find a Tender Service, being a single web -based portal which 
is provided by or on behalf of the Cabinet Office at www.find -tender.service.gov.uk .  
In accorda nce with the provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement, procurements which were 
commenced prior to the end of the transition period will continue to require publication of notices in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. This provision will be implement ed by regulations made 
under powers in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended by the European Union 
(Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020.  
6.6.  Please specify the types of information that notices of contract awards should 
contain in your country and id entify the relevant provisions in your legislation.  
Notices of intended contract award must contain a broad range of information about the contracting 
authority or contracting entity, the requirement and the procurement procedure including the 
award.56 
Notices of contract award generally must contain:  
1. The name and contact details of the contracting authority or contracting entity.  
2. Where appropriate, indication that the contracting authority or contracting entity is a 
central purchasing body or that any  other form of joint procurement is involved.  
3. Codes describing the services required.  
4. Codes describing the location of delivery of the services, works or supplies.  
5. The nature and extent of the works, the nature and quantity or value of supplies, n ature 
and the extent of services.  
6. The type of award procedure and, in the case of negotiated procedure without prior 
publication, the justification for use of the procedure.  
7. An indication whether a framework agreement is involved, a dynamic purchasi ng system 
is involved, or an electronic auction is involved.  
8. The criteria used for award of the contract or contracts.  
9. The date of the conclusion of the contract(s) or of the framework agreement(s) following 
the decision to award or conclude it/them.  
10. The number of tenders received with respect of each award.  
11. For each award, the name, address, telephone, fax number, email address and internet 
address of the successful tenderer(s).  
12. The value of the successful tender (tenders) or the highest tender and lowest tender 
taken into consideration for the contract award or awards.  
13. Where appropriate, for each award, the value and proportion of contract likely to be 
subcontracted to third parties.  
14. The name and address of the body respon sible for review and, where appropriate, 
mediation procedures.  
15. The date of dispatch of the notice.  
16. Any other relevant information.  
6.7.  Please specify the relevant provisions in your legislation and/or administrative 
procedures enabling, as foreseen in  Article  XVI:1 of the Agreement, the provision of 
information to unsuccessful tenderers regarding the reasons why a tender was not 
selected.  
The PCR 2015 and PCSR 2015 require contracting authorities to issue a notice to all economic 
operators who particip ated in the procurement process notifying them of the decision to award a 
contract. The only exceptions to the requirement to provide the notice are: where the contract is 
permitted to be awarded without prior publication of a call for competition; where t he only tenderer 
is the one who is to be awarded the contract and there are no candidates; or where the contracting 
authority awards a contract under a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system. The 
 
55 See Regulation 51 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 71 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 33 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation  52 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 69 of the UCSR2016 and Regulation 35 of the CCSR 2016.  
56 See Regulation 50 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 69, of the UCR 2016, Regulation 32 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 51 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 68 of the UCSR 2016 and R egulation 34 of the CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
- 28 - 
 
  notice must include detailed information, includ ing the reasons for the decision and the 
characteristics and relative advantages of the successful tender and the score of the economic 
operator who is receiving the notice and the score of the successful tenderer.57 Information can be 
withheld from the not ice where the release of the information: would impede law enforcement or 
would otherwise be contrary to the public interest; would prejudice the legitimate commercial 
interests of a particular economic operator, whether public or private; or might prejudi ce fair 
competition between economic operators.  
The UCR 2016 and the UCSR 2016 require contracting entities to inform all economic operators who 
participated in the procurement process of a decision relating to the award of a contract, including 
the ground s for the decision. Where requested, contracting entities must inform an unsuccessful 
economic operator of the reasons for the rejection of its request to participate or tender.58 
Information can be withheld from the notice in the same circumstances as unde r the PCR 2015 and 
the PCSR 2015.  
The CCR 2016 and the CCSR 2016 require contracting authorities and contracting entities to issue a 
notice to all economic operators who participated in the procurement process of a decision relating 
to the award of a contr act, including the grounds for the decision. Where requested, contracting 
entities must inform an unsuccessful economic operator of the characteristics and relative 
advantages of the successful tender.59 Information can be withheld from the notice in the sa me 
circumstances as under the PCR 2015 and the PCSR 2015.  
6.8.  Please specify the procedures that your government will have in place to ensure, as 
foreseen in Article XVII:1 of the Agreement, the prompt provision to any other Party, on 
request, of any informati on necessary to determine whether a procurement was 
conducted fairly, impartially and in accordance with the Agreement, including information 
on the characteristics and relative advantages of the successful tender.  
The procedures in place to ensure the pro mpt provision of information necessary to determine a 
procurement was conducted fairly, impartially and in accordance with the GPA are described in 
section 6.7 above.  
The UK legal system also has well -developed mechanisms for disclosure in civil proceeding s. 
Proceedings for breach of the procurement laws would be brought by way of civil proceedings.  
1. All parties to civil proceedings in England and Wales must give disclosure, subject to 
some very narrow exceptions. Each party has the right to inspect and/o r take copies of 
disclosed documents, again subject to some narrow exceptions. The parties must carry 
out a reasonable search for documents, bearing in mind all of the circumstances of the 
case, the value of the dispute and the overriding objective of deal ing with cases justly. 
The obligation is to search for, and disclose, documents currently or formerly in a party's 
control. In public law proceedings in England and Wales, the public authority whose 
actions are under challenge also has a duty to make full and fair disclosure of all relevant 
material, and the claimant has their own duty of candour to disclose all relevant facts.  
2. In Northern Ireland, document disclosure is automatic after close of pleadings, with an 
ongoing duty to make disclosure as and w hen documents come to light. Disclosure is 
required of all documents which may fairly lead to a train of enquiry which may have 
the consequences of either enabling a party to advance his own case, or to damage that 
of his adversary.  
3. In Scotland, there is not a general duty to disclose, unless a document is found that is 
contrary to the case that has been pleaded. If this happens, the solicitor acting must 
disclose this to the court. In addition, parties wishing to recover particular documents 
from the o ther side or a third party against their will must seek an order from the court 
sanctioning their recovery request. The court will authorise this if the party 
demonstrates that the documents are relevant to the claim and support its pleaded 
case. 
 
57 See Regulation 86 of the PCR 2015 and Regulation 85 of the PCSR 2015.  
58 See Regulation 75 of the UCR 2016 and Regulation 73 of the UCSR 2016.  
59 See Regulation 40 of the CCR 2016 and Regulation 43 of the CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  7  DOMESTIC REVIEW PROCEDURES  
7.1.  Please provide information on existing domestic review procedures.  
Domestic review procedures are available on application to the High Court in England, Wales and 
Northern Ireland60 or the Sheriff Court or Court of Session in Scotland.61  
In order to enable economic operators to consider whether they have a potential claim before the 
contract is signed, a standstill period of 10 days starting after the date on which the contracting 
authority or utility electronically notifies tenderers of it s intention to award the contract to the 
successful tenderer (or 12 days if the notification is not sen t electronically). During the standstill 
period, contracting authorities and contracting entities must not enter into the contract.62 
A claim must be brought within 30 days beginning with the date when the economic operator first 
knew or ought to have known that grounds for starting the proceedings had arisen, although this 
time limit can be extended by up to three months by the court where it considers  that there is a 
good reason for doing so.63 For very serious breaches where the remedy of ineffectiveness is 
available (see below), a claim must be brought within 30 days but in any event within six months of 
the date of the contract.64  
Before a contract h as been entered into with the successful tenderer, the available remedies include 
an order setting aside a decision and an order requiring the contracting authority or utility to amend 
a document, which in both cases can be in addition or as an alternative  to a claim for damages.65 
Once the contract has been entered into, the remedy of setting aside decision is not available but, 
for specific very serious breaches, this remedy must be ordered by the court.66 Where damages are 
available, they are based on the profits lost to the claimant as a result of the breach and/or wasted 
bid costs. The level of damages recoverable depends partly on whether the claimant would have 
been awarded the contract in the absence of the breach or merely whether he has lost the 
opportunity to bid in a fair and transparent tender procedure.  
When proceedings are issued and the contracting authority or utility is aware that proceedings have 
been issued, the tender process is automatically suspended and the contract cannot be entered in to. 
The suspension remains in place until the court brings it to an end by an interim order or the 
proceedings are determined, discontinued or otherwise disposed of.67 
7.2.  Are there specific provisions enabling access of foreign suppliers to domestic review 
procedures?  
Obligations on contracting authorities and contracting entities in domestic law are expressly stated 
to be duties owed to economic operators from GPA states in procurements to which the GPA 
applies.68 Therefore, in GPA regulated procurements, domes tic review procedures are available to 
economic operators from GPA states.  
 
60 See Reg ulation 91 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 106 of the UCR 20 16 and Regulation 52 of the CCR  2016.  
61 See Regulation 88 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 101 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 52 of the CCSR 
2016.  
62 See Regulation 87 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 102 of t he UCR 2016, Regulation 48 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 86 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 99 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 50 of the CCSR 2016.  
63 See Regulation 92 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 107 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 53 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 88  of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 101 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 52 of the CCSR 2016.  
64 See Regulation 93 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 108 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 54 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 88 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 101 of the UCSR 2016 and R egulation 52 of the CCSR 2016.  
65 See Regulations 97 and 98 of the PCR 2015, Regulations 112 and 113 of the UCR 2016, Regulations 58 
and 59 of the CCR 2016, Regulation 90 of the PCSR 2016, Regulation 103 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 54 
of the CCSR 2016.  
66 See Regulation 101 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 116 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 62 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 92 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 104 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 55 of the CCSR 2016.  
67 See Regulation 95 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 110 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 56 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 89 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 102 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 53 of the CCSR 2016.  
68 See Regulation 90(1) of the PCR 2015, Regulation 105(1) of the UCR 2016, Regulation 51(1) of the 
CCR 2016, Re gulation 87(2) of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 100(1) of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 51(2) of the 
CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  7.3.  To the extent that this information does not fully respond to the following points, 
please provide the supplementary information necessary to do so:  
a. The time -limit to launch a compl aint contained in the Agreement is "not less than 
10 days" from the time when the basis of the complaint is known or reasonably 
should have been known. What are the limits in your domestic legislation?  
As explained in section 7.1 above, a claim must be bro ught within 30 days beginning with 
the date when the economic operator first knew or ought to have known that grounds for 
starting the proceedings had arisen, although this time limit can be extended by up to 
three months by the court where it considers th at there is a good reason for doing so.69 
For very serious breaches where the remedy of ineffectiveness is available (see below), a 
claim must be brought within 30 days but in any event within six months of the date of 
the contract.70 
b. What body is responsibl e for the domestic review procedures? Is this a "court" 
or an "impartial and independent review body"? If the latter:  
i. How are its members selected?  
ii. Are its decisions subject to judicial review?  
iii. If not, how will the requirements of paragraph 6 of Article XV III of the 
Agreement be taken into account?  
As explained in section 7.1 above, domestic review procedures are available on 
application to the High Court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland71 or the Sheriff 
Court or Court of Session in Scotland.72 
c. What is the applicable law by reference to which the review body will examine 
complaints?  
The applicable law for procurements governed by the PCR 2015, the UCR 2016 and the 
CCR 2016 is English law. The applicable law for procurements governed by the PCSR 2015, 
the UCSR 2016 and the CCSR 2016 is Scottish law.  
d. Which rapid interim measures are provided to correct breaches of the Agreement 
and to preserve commercial opportunities?  
i. Do these measures include the possibility to suspend the procurement 
process? On what con ditions?  
As explained in section 7.1 above, when proceedings are issued and the contracting 
authority or contracting entity is aware that proceedings have been issued, the tender 
process is automatically suspended and the contract cannot be entered into. T he 
suspension remains in place until the court brings it to an end by an interim order or 
the proceedings are determined, discontinued or otherwise disposed of.73 The test the 
courts apply to decide whether to lift the suspension is: whether there is a seri ous 
question to be tried; what would be the balance of convenience of each party should 
the order be granted; and whether there are any special factors.  
 
69 See Regulation 92 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 107 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 53 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 88 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 101 of  the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 52 of the CCSR 2016.  
70 See Regulation 93 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 108 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 54 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 88 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 101 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 52 of the CCSR 2016.  
71 See Regulation 91 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 106 of the UCR 2016 and Regulation 52 of the CCR 
2016.  
72 See Regulation 88 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 101 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 52 of the CCSR 
2016.  
73 See Regulation 95 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 110 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 56 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 89 of the PCSR 2015, Regulation 102 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 53 of the CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  e. How do domestic review procedures provide for correction of breaches of the 
Agreement and/or of your me asures implementing the Agreement? What types 
of compensation for loss or damages suffered can the review body order?  
As explained in section 7.1 above, before a contract has been entered into with the 
successful tenderer, the available remedies include an  order setting aside a decision and 
an order requiring the contracting authority or contracting entity to amend a document, 
which in both cases can be in addition or as an alternative to a claim for damages.74 Once 
the contract has been entered into, the re medy of setting aside decision is not available 
but, for specific very serious breaches, this remedy must be ordered by the court.75 Where 
damages are available, they are based on the profits lost to the claimant as a result of the 
breach and/or wasted bid costs. The level of damages recoverable depends partly on 
whether the claimant would have been awarded the contract in the absence of the breach 
or merely whether he has lost the opportunity to bid in a fair and transparent tender 
procedure.  
f. Give any avail able information on the time -periods for the stages of the domestic 
review process, including to obtain interim measures and a final decision.  
The time limits for the bringing of claims are set out in section 7.1a. above.  
g. What are the usual costs to conduc t a domestic review procedure? Are there 
possibilities foreseen to do so free of charge?  
Court fees and charges are published by the Ministry of Justice and can be viewed online: 
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetLeaflet.do?court_leafle ts_id=264 . 
The main cost associated with a legal challenge is likely to be for obtaining legal advice 
and representation. While it is not mandatory, having legal representation is likely to be 
in the claimant's best interest.  
8  OTHER MATTERS  
8.1.  To what extent i s information technology being used in the process of government 
procurement? Are notices of intended procurement and/or notices of contract awards 
published electronically? Please provide the address of such electronic publications.  
The PCR 2015 and PCSR 2015 make it mandatory from 18th October 2018 for all contracting 
authorities and contracting entities to use electronic means of communications and information 
exchange in all procurement procedures. These requirements have been mandatory for central 
purchasing bodies from 18th April 2017. There are specific requirements for electronic 
communications, including a requirement that tools and devices used for electronic communication 
must be non -discriminatory, generally available and interoperable with produ cts in general use and 
must not restrict access to the procurement procedure.76 
In addition to electronic means of communications, free and unrestricted electronic availability of 
procurement documents is required, dynamic purchasing systems must be operated as a completely 
electronic process, e -auctions are permitted and e -catalogues  can be used.  
For concession contracts, electronic communication is mandatory in Scotland subject to certain 
exceptions.77 In the rest of the UK, electronic communication is permitted (but not mandatory).78 
 
74 See Regulations 97 and 98 of the PCR 2015, Regulations 112 and 113 of the UCR 2016, Regulations 58 
and 59 of the CCR 2016, Regulation 90 of the PCSR 2016, Regulation 103 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 54 
of the CCSR 2016.  
75 See Regulation 101 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 116 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 62 of the CCR 2016, 
Regulation 92 of  the PCSR 2015, Regulation 104 of the UCSR 2016 and Regulation 55 of the CCSR 2016.  
76 See Regulation 22 of the PCR 2015, Regulation 40 of the UCR 2016, Regulation 23 of the PCSR 2015 
and Regulation 38 of the UCSR 2016.  
77 See Regulation 29 of the CCR 2016.  
78 See Regulation 32 of the CCSR 2016.  GPA/ACC/GBR/2/Rev.1  
 
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  8.2.  Is there a contact point in your country for respo nding to enquiries from suppliers, 
other governments and the wider public relating to laws, regulations and procedures and 
practices regarding government procurement at the central and/or sub -central level? 
Please provide the address.  
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) brings together policy, advice and direct buying; providing 
commercial services to the public sector and saving money for the taxpayer.  
CCS is an executive agency, sponsored by the Cabinet Office . CCS provides service desks for both 
suppliers and customers:  
Supplier service desk  
 
Email supplier@crowncommercial.gov.uk  
Contact form link: Contact Form  
Telephone 0345 010 3503  
9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday  
 
Customer service desk  
Email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk  
Contact form link: Contact Form  
Telephone 0345 410 2222  
9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday  
  
Annex A  
 
Copies of National Legislation - Links to Documents  
 
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015  
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/pdfs/uksi_20150102_en.pdf . 
 
The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016  
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/274/pdfs/uksi_20160274_en.pdf . 
 
The Concession Contracts Regulations 2016  
http://www.legislation.gov.uk /uksi/2016/273/pdfs/uksi_20160273_en.pdf . 
 
The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015  
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2015/446/pdfs/ssi_20150446_en.pdf . 
 
The Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016  
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2016/49/pdfs/ssi_20160049_en.pdf . 
 
The Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016  
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2016/65/pdfs/ssi_20160065_en.pdf . 
 
 
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